COLUMBIA, Ky.- The women's basketball team fell to No.2 Bethel (Tenn.) 84-73 Saturday afternoon in Biggers Sports Center. 

Meadow Tisdale led the offensive brigade with 24 points on 9-of-14 shooting alongside eight rebounds. Amelia Hodges tallied 14 points, connecting on 3-of-4 at the charity stripe. Taylor Guess added 11 points and nine boards while Jarie Thomas rounded out the double-figure scoring with 10 points. 

Thomas knocked down two free throws at 8:59 in the first quarter to open the LWU scoring and cut the Bethel lead to 3-2. Bethel's Micah Hart scored the first eight points for the Wildcats to lead Lindsey Wilson 8-5 with 8:07 on the clock. A layup and jumper from Bethel's MJ Simmons and Micah Hart grew the Blue Raider deficit to 12-5. Hodges knocked down her first bucket of the night with 6:34 on the clock on an assist from Saniyah Shelton to cut the deficit to 12-8. The next possession for the Blue Raiders, Guess found Thomas in the corner for a three to cut the lead to 12-11 with 5:30 left in the first. With 5:12 on the clock, LWU took its first lead on a defensive rebound from Shelton and a dime pass to Hodges for a lay-in and a 13-12 Blue Raider advantage. Both teams traded buckets from 5:17 to 0:01 left on the clock with Micah Hart knocking down a three at the buzzer to edge the Wildcats ahead 24-21. 

A three from Emma Barnett on an assist from Hodges tied the game at 26-26 at the 8:36 mark in the second quarter. 35 seconds later, Hodges connected on a three of her own on an assist from Tisdale to give the Blue Raiders a 29-28 lead. At 7:41 Micah Hart pulled up for a three of her own to take the lead back for Bethel, 31-29. Thomas answered back with a jumper to tie the game back at 31-31 with 6:30 remaining. A layup from Tisdale and two free throws from Hodges boosted the Blue Raiders ahead 37-33 with 3:45 on the clock. Bethel's Madison Hart connected on two free throws of her own at 3:16 to cut the lead to 37-35, but was answered with a layup from Tisdale at 2:58 on an assist from Hodges giving LWU a 39-35 lead. Both teams went scoreless the last 2:57 with the Blue Raiders taking a 39-35 advantage into the half. 

Guess found her way to the bucket at 8:48 to open the second half scoring and increase the lead back to 41-37. Guess made her way back to the rim at the 6:46 mark but was answered by Madison Hart at 6:35 with a layup of her own to even the game at 44-44. From 6:09 to 5:36, the Blue Raiders went on a 5-0 run to lead 49-44. Bethel answered back with a 7-0 run of its own from 5:17 to 3:50, taking a 51-49 advantage. Guess knocked down a jumper at 3:24 followed by two free throws from Tisdale the next possession to take a 53-51 lead with 2:38 on the clock. Tisdale gave the Blue Raiders a 57-55 advantage with 0:16 seconds on the clock but was met with a deep three from Micah Hart with 0:01 on the clock to edge Bethel ahead 58-57 headed into the final ten minutes of action. 
Tisdale converted on a tough bucket inside the paint at 9:06 to answer a three from Micah Hart that started the fourth quarter, cutting the Blue Raider deficit to 61-59. An and-one from Tisdale at 8:20 cut into the Wildcats lead again making it a one point game, trailing 63-62. Back to back layups from Micah Hart and Adalyn Koelling pushed the Wildcats ahead 69-63 with 6:11 left to play. At 5:02, Madison Hart converted on a layup to increase the Bethel lead to nine with 5:02 to play, creating a 73-64 LWU deficit. Shelton drove through the lane and  finished a tough bucket to cut the Wildcat lead to a 79-73 two possession game with 0:36 on the clock. Bethel closed the game on a 5-0 run to defeat Lindsey Wilson 84-73. 

Women's hoops will be back in action on Saturday to face the (RV) Tigers of Georgetown (Ky.) in the Davis-Reid Alumni Gym at 12 P.M. CT.